More Coverage

Related Stories

Whether he has proven to the St. Louis Rams that he can play for them remains to be seen.

The Rams must decide by 4 p.m. Saturday when rosters are trimmed to 53 players whether to keep Sam, their seventh-round pick, and the league's first openly-gay player.

The Rams have 58 players left on their roster -- including defensive end Sam -- after cutting 17 on Friday.

Sam slapped an exclamation point on an already impressive body of preseason work Thursday, proving he can do more than just rush the passer by producing against the run with a team-high six tackles.

Sam has been in competition for what was believed to be the final defensive line position with Ethan Westbrooks, an undrafted but versatile rookie out of West Texas A & M. Both have been equally impressive. On Thursday, Westbrooks had four tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits in a 14-13 loss to Miami. Both have shown they can play; St. Louis limiting Miami to 2.7 yards per carry on 29 attempts.

The question facing Rams coaches is whether they can find a way to keep both. Head coach Jeff Fisher wasn't hinting which way he was leaning just 24 hours before an official decision had to be announced. "This is the hard part about the National Football League in the next couple of days, reducing the roster," Fisher said. "We'll have some discussions ... and go from there."

Whichever way the Rams go, Sam isn't worrying like he did during the draft when he waited nervously -- and long -- before finally finding out where fate would send him.

"You know what, it's not going to be like the draft," said Sam, happy in the belief that he will end up somewhere in the NFL. "I'm very confident that I'm going to sleep really well tonight and I'm very confident I'm going to be on a team, the Rams or any other team in the NFL."

If the Rams need to talk to him they'll know where to find him -- and it won't be in front of the television set checking out roster cuts.

He's off for a little R&R, traveling back to his alma mater, Missouri, for its regular-season opener Saturday against South Dakota State.

"I'm very confident I will be playing on an NFL roster this fall," Sam said. "I made some big plays in games and in practice I improved every week and I know I can play in this league."

In the team's four preseason games, Sam finished with 11 tackles and three sacks.

"I believe he can play in this league," Fisher said after the game. What Fisher has yet to say is whether he believes Sam can play with the Rams.

PASSING GRADE

With the Cincinnati Bengals sitting out four running backs, rookie tailback Jeremy Hill rushed 20 times for 90 yards and caught six passes for 70 yards Thursday.

That was enough to convince the club to part with running back Benjarvus Green-Ellis.

Hill will now be the backup to Giovani Bernard. The move had been rumored ever since Cincinnati took Hill in the May draft.

On Thursday, Hill got an opportunity to show he can handle a bigger role. "On one of those drives I got a little tired," said Hill. "But for the most part, I got my wind back and started finishing runs. It's something I can hang my hat on."

Green-Ellis spent the last two seasons with the Bengals, running 498 times for 1,850 yards and 13 touchdowns, but the arrivals of Hill and Bernard over the last two seasons made him expendable.

SUPER BLUES

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has tasted a lot of success.

Bah! Phooey. Big whoop. Just ask Peterson.

"I'd give up everything," Peterson told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "MVP, 2,000 yards in a season, Rookie of the Year. Every accomplishment I've ever had, I'd trade for a Super Bowl. Hands down. And that Super Bowl season, even if I couldn't get 1,000 yards, if I could win a Super Bowl, I would trade it."

The closest he's come to a Super Bowl is an NFC championship game loss to the New Orleans Saints. He admits playing for teams with a losing record (54-57), not even getting to a Super Bowl, has hurt.

"It's been frustrating," Peterson said. "Especially when you put in a lot of work and think about two-a-days. You think about [training] camp and all the time you invest into that ultimate goal, and then when you don't even touch the playoffs or you're out in the first week, it's tough. That's hard on anyone."

JUST FOR KICKS

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have cut kicker Connor Barth, turning the punting chores over to Patrick Murray, a second-year player from Fordham ... Eagles rookie place kicker Cody Parkey connected on field goals of 53 and 54 yards Thursday, challenging four-year veteran Alex Henery for the job. Parkey also forced two touchbacks on four kickoffs. The Eagles haven't been happy with Henery's accuracy on longer kicks.

SMITH SUSPENDED

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith must sit out the first nine games of the season. It's his punishment for multiple personal conduct and substance-abuse violations.

According to ESPN.com, the suspension is broken down in two parts: Four games for violations of the substance-abuse policy, and five games for violations of the personal-conduct policy.

QUICK HITS

The Indianapolis Star says that Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has agreed to a plea agreement in his impaired driving case ... Vikings wide receiver Jerome Simpson has been suspended for three games after a DUI. Of course, he has dropped so far down on the depth chart some people might not even notice he's gone ... Kellen Moore completed 68.6% of his passes in the preseason, never threw an interception and finished with a passer rating of 108.4. Moore, a two-time all-America at Boise State has outplayed Dan Orlovsky for the backup job in Detroit. Orlovsky, however, is a favorite of head coach JimCaldwell ... Bears safety Ryan Mundy is considering suing equipment maker Schutt after he was cut for 16 stitches by one of their helmets that he was wearing. He has switched to another helmet maker. While upsetting he might have trouble convincing a judge and jury that a big, tough football player should be compensated because he got a boo-boo on his noggin.